LUIS GONZÁLEZ PALMA. INTANGIBLE CONSTELLATIONS
The universe of Luis González Palma (Guatemala, 1957) is made up of theme-related constellations that orbit around his work in a never-ending flow and return cycle. Identity and memory —the pillars of his early photographic series— are approached from the perspective of the portrait with lingering echoes of religious painting, the baroque and Pre-Raphaelite styles. Other themes that hover around his work are introspection, privacy, a reflection on power and the representation of what is not visible ‘what we don’t see when we look at something; what we don’t say when we speak.’ Indeed, his entire work is a reflection on our vision, which questions history and the human condition.
Luis González Palma uses a symphony of formal solutions which are, in his words, ‘an attempt to give some substance to the phantoms that govern personal relationships, religious hierarchies, politics and life.’ To do this, he borrows elements from the theatre, and catholic imagery, cinematographic codes and resources that come from architecture, dance, music or old photography techniques. In his latest series, geometric minimalism is superimposed on the subjects who were the protagonists of his early works, leading to the co-existence of the two opposing currents that have marked Latin American art throughout the twentieth century: figuration and abstraction.
Lecture Audio Recording [spanish] (Luis González Palma and Santiago Olmo, 27th November 2015)
Workshop with Luis González Palma
This exhibition is organised and produced by Fundación Telefónica.
